Thanks for coming to the official homepage for guitar legend Tom Principato.

Tom has been setting the telecaster on fire all across the globe with some of the finest performers for over 25 years.

Tom has performed on dozens of blues recordings and is still making ground breaking american music enjoyed by fans across the world.

The Tom Principato band enjoys the passionate virtuosity of John Perry on Bass and the energetic percussive stylings of Joe Wells on Drums.

Vintage Guitar Magazine interviews Tom in one their feature articles!

Tom is featured in Vintage Guitar Magazine. Lots of great pictures and in depth information in this excellent article. Here's how it starts:

The Tom Principato Band recently released Raising the Roof and Principato sat with Vintage Guitar to discuss his history and the instruments he has used while creating it. He has resided in Boston, Pittsburgh,and Austin and is now settled back in D.C., where he came of age listening to local legends.

"I really got interested in guitar from listening to my parents records," he recalled. "Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Charlie Christian. My parents were in their 30s when I was born and there was a lot of swing music in the house when I was growing up. I started playing the guitar when I was 11 and struggled with it on into high school..."

Click here to see the whole Vintage Guitar Magazine article.

RAISING THE ROOF!

New CD due out March 3, 2008 on Powerhouse Records

Powerhouse Records announces a March 3, 2008 release date for Raising the Roof, the new album from guitarist Tom Principato and his band, distributed nationally by Redeye Distribution, and scheduled for release to the European market in April by Dixie Frog Records of France.

On Raising the Roof, the Tom Principato Band is joined by long-time DC-area favorite Tommy Lepson, who contributes his soulful Hammond B3 organ playing and vocals, as well as several other special guests. The new album showcases nine songs (including 6 originals) that demonstrate the breadth of Tom’s musical influences ranging from blues, jazz and rock, to funk, reggae and New Orleans sounds.The three covers include a jazzy workout of Jimmy Smith’s “8 Counts for Rita,” a cooking take on J.J. Cale’s “Lies,” and a new version of Louis Jordan’s “Fish Fry” that brings on the funk and Jamaican flavors to this R&B classic, a long-time staple of the band’s live shows.The Tom Principato Band will begin a world-wide tour in support of Raising the Roof shortly after its release, including showcase club dates and festival shows.

Thank you WAMA!

Thanks to WAMA for honoring Tom Principato for "Guitar Gumbo" winning best Blues Recording and Best Blues Vocalist.

Also Dave Kitchen won a Wammy for Song of the year for "If Love Is a Blind" a song recorded on the "Guitar Gumbo" CD.

Tom is proud to announce his new string endorsement with GHS Strings. To learn more about GHS Strings go to:

www.ghsstrings.com

This pic is from the Jeff Sarli Tribute Concert at Chick Halls Surf Club on Tues Oct. 10.

Tom is jamming with Kevin McKendree on piano, and Big Joe Maher on drums.

Photo by Linda Parker

Notable Quotes

"Music reminds us of the best that we are about"
--Wynton Marsalis on Emeril Live 8/21/06

"While I acknowledge that my primary function on Earth is to be a musician, I also see that music is nothing more than the essential component of humanity-it is all the same material. My feeling is that the more I can learn about music, the more I learn about other things. So far, it has worked for me.
--Pat Metheny

The Birchmere was sold out and rockin' with over 500 fans on 2/24/07!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the show to party with Tom, Bill Kirchen, and Tommy Lepson.

Tom just did an interview with BluesWax's Ezine on February 9, 2005 called Sittin’ In With Tom Principato -
Guitar Thrills, Blues, and A World of Music from Tom Principato.

Read the interview now!